Argentina is a wonderful place to grow grapes and make fine wine. There are few other places that have such a rich heritage and viticulture tradition. Also, the various altitudes and climates encountered in Argentina make for great diversity in wine style. However, playing to local tastes kept her from expressing her full potential until recently. Now, with the proper vineyard management and steady global investment, she is knocking our socks off as she finally gets a chance on the world stage.
With massive production facilities already in place, Argentina has much of the necessary infrastructure to make an international impact.
Spanish settlers brought hardy "work horse" vines to Argentina over the Andes from Peru and Chile as early as the mid-1500's. In 1853 Argentina's School of Agriculture was founded in Mendoza province, headed by Miguel Pouget. The first director encouraged the European model of winemaking, introduced French varietals, and taught grafting and other modern cultivation techniques. In 1884 the province undertook massive irrigation projects, and the dams and channels constructed at that time transformed arid lands into oases, allowing modern viticulture. Nineteenth century winemakers concentrated on optimizing the quantity rather than quality of their wines, a trend that by and large has only begun to change over the last fifteen years.
Between the years of 1930 and 1983, political and economic instability seriously disrupted the industry. One of the more shattering changes for winemakers was a production subsidy that encouraged destruction of fine older vineyards and favored planting of inferior high-volume varietals. In Mendoza province, whose proud history of red Malbec and white Semillon wines had made it known as the Tierra del Sol y del Buen Vino (country of sun and good wine), wine production was drastically disrupted by the terrible political conditions of the 1970's, from which it (like the rest of Argentina) continues to recover. In the last ten years, increasing foreign and domestic investment has begun to reconstitute the industry in a modern mold, and world commerce has doubled. Argentina is currently the fifth largest wine producer in the world.
Notable Mendoza wine growing areas are broken into province, district and sub district.
Mendoza Province, (or as we know as a state):
Districts (or as we know as counties) within Mendoza:
• Luján de Cuyo (District)
Sub district within:
- Agrelo (Sub district)
- Perdriel (Sub district)
• Maipú (District)
- Barrancas (Sub district)
Uco Valley is the general grouping of the following
Districts and Sub district.
• Tupungato (District)
• Tunuyán (District)
• San Carlos (District)
- La Consulta (Sub district)
- Altamira (Sub district)
For more information on the history and culture surrounding Argentina's blooming wine industry visit:
